The government plans to reduce its stake in the oil-pipeline monopoly to 75 percent plus one share by 2016, Economy
Minister Andrei Belousov said at a government meeting in Moscow
today. Former President Dmitry Medvedev pledged in June last
year to relinquish government control of some of the biggest
state companies.

“Selling a larger amount of shares would have pressured
the stock price,” Alexander Ivanischev, an analyst at Infina
Investment Co., said by phone. “Now we know that nothing will
change in the ownership structure.”